Rail-joint.



J. E. KELLER.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. 1912.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

EN wm .um

WITNESSES..

WETED 'STATES PATENT?? J'HN R. KELLER, OF PTTSBURGI-I, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE RAIL JOINT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OE NEW YORK.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led April 9, 1912.

Patented Mar. 3, 19de.

Serial No. 689,654.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, JOHN R. KELLER, a citizen of the United States ot America, residing in Pittsburgh, in the county of Alle gheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful improvement in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

rlhis invention rela-tes to rail joints, and has for its particular object the provision of a new and improved construction therefor, whereby increased strength and stillness is secured over the ordinary angle bar joint to take care ot the stresses and strains to which the oint bars are subjected under the load of traliic.

lt also aims to provide a structure which can be easily manufactured by simple rolling-mill processes, without resorting to special manipulations or the use of special apparatus.

ln rail joints under load, the greater weaknesses are developed at the center of the joint, or the point of juncture ot' the rails. At this point, the tendency, under operative stresses of tratiic, is mainly toward vertical deflection and buckling of the joint bars, downwardly and upwardly, incident respectively to direct overehead loading of the joint and to the wave movement of the trallic. Present traffic, with its increased loads, tends toward ready development of these weaknesses, resulting in a compara tively short lite for the comino-n angle bar or lishplate joint, and to meet these ditliculties various forms of joints have been devised, many ot which have failed by reason of limitations of construction, or have been rendered undesirable it not prohibitive, by reason of the high cost of production.

Attempts have been made to obviate vertical detlection ont the joint by providing a splice bar with the integral truss member so disposed as to depend below the rail base and between the ties adjacent the joint. An objection which presents itself in splice-bars of this character, lies in the waste of metal which is necessarily involved in shearing away portions of the depending truss-members to allow the ties to be placed in their proper positions under the ends of the joint. lt is apparent that, in employing the presentstandards of length of joint and spacing of joint-tles (the former being from twenty four inch to thirty six inch and the latter A trom eight inch to twelve inch centers) it is necessary to shear away the lower portion or truss member of splice bars ot the above described type for approximately two-thirds of the length of the bars, in order to allow the ends oit the splice bars to pass over or lie above the joint-ties. Added to the cost of the waste material involved in this operation, is the expense o' the shearing, which will increase with the hardness ot the steel employed, owing to the ditliculty ot' the operation.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide a rail joint which will overcome the above mentioned limitations of construction, and excessive costs of production, by the use of a supplemental splice bar having supporting engagement with a main splice bar, thereby increasing the stillness and strength of the latter at the points ot greatest stress and at the same time avoiding to a great extent, waste ot' material.

W ith these and many ther objects in view, which will readily appear to those :tamiliar with the art as the nature of the invention is better understood, the saine consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement ot' parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

The essential features of the invention in volvcd in the carrying out of the objects above indicated are necessarily susceptible of structural change without departing from the scope of the invention; but a preferred embodiment thereof is shown in the accent panying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side elevation ol a rail joint embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a trans verse section taken on the line 2 2 out Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on the line 3-3 ot Fig. l.

The abutting rail ends 2 and 3 have secured thereto at each side by the track bolts 4, the splice bars 5, having the upper rail engaging head 6, and the lower base llange engaging head or tace 7. These splice bars are shown as embodying a construction known as a plain, as contradistinguished from an angle splice bar. However, my invention, as stated above, contemplates the provision of a joint, in which the strains are tls taken care of under all conditions of tra flic, and in this respect it will be apparent, as l have also stated above, that a commercially acceptable joint must be of such dimensions and of such construction as to obviate any cumbering of the joint in its completed or assembled fo-rin. Therefore, l form the splice bar 5 with the longitudinally laterally-extending ribs S, which are preferably symmetrically disposed above and below the medium horizontal line of the splice bar, which passes directly through the bolt apertures. rIhese ribs S are preferably flat finished or surfaced so as to receive, without undue binding or without canting thereof, the usual nut 9, or head of the bolt 10, the spacing of the ribs from one another being preferably of such a distance that the boltaperture is partially formed in the opposing faces of the two ribs S of each bar. The construction employing these ribs 8 presents a form of splice bar which does not necessitate the employment of filler blocks or peculiarly formed washers to back up the bolt head or the nut of the track bolt. r-rt the same time, it provides for such reinforcement as obviates the necessity of placing these ribs, or other accumulation of reinforcing metal, at a point, or points, near the edge faces of the heads 6 and T. As shown in Fig. 2, the bar 5 may be employed in connection with a supplemental bar 11, having a depending truss member l2, which fits, as shown in Fig. 1, between the ties. tending leg or flange 13, carrying an inwardly projecting rib or shoulder 1-1, formed complementary with the groove between the ribs S of the bar 5. The lower rib 8 of the bar 5 may also be finished at its lower face to provide an abutment shoulder 17, against which lies the face of the shoulder 16 of the bar 11. This shoulder 16 is formed by extending the metal of the member 11 inwardly in complementary association with the shoulder of the bar 5, thereby forming, substantially, a continuous unbroken line of metal from t-he head (i to the depending truss flange 12. rlhis construction and arrangement provides a form of truss joint with the reinforcing at the center of the joint, at a point where the reinforcement is necessary and most desirable, Without unnecessarily extending to the ends of the joint, or bar 5 any superfluous amount of metal. This reinforcing member 11 also provides for proper vertical reinforcement and lateral stiness Without restricting that natural capacity for flexibility which is inherent in the usual straight or angular splice bars.

lVhen employing these truss bars 11, it will also be apparent that any suitable under-plate or sub-structure may be em- Aployed, such as a bridge piece 1S and suitl l l l This bar 11 has an upwardly eX- l l l l l able transverse bolts 19. In this respect the particular construction shown provides the inwardly eXtending lugs or ribs 20 on the member 12, which lie beneath the rail and serve to clamp toward the under faces of the rail base flange, the bridge piece 18. rhe supplemental or additional reinforcing bar 11, of course, when employed in this manner, does not require such length as would necessitate wasteful shearing of the trussed flange 12 to accommodate the ends of the member 11 in their disposition above the ties. l forni a bar preferably of such length as will take in the central four track bolts, this length requiring very little shearing of the truss flange to enable the ends of the bar to lie above the ties 21. 1t will, of course, be understood that such shearing of the flange 12, contemplates the preservation of the usual tie spacing at the joint.

The advantages of my invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art since I provide a form of joint which provides full and complete reinforcement with the minimum of weight and a form of joint which may be produced by the ordinary processes of mill rolling with concomitant cheapness of manufacture.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rail joint including a main splice bar fitting the fishing spaces, and a supplemental splice bar overlying and underlying the rail base flanges and having a direct engagement with the upper sides of said flanges, said supplemental splice bar having an interlocking engagement with the outer side of the main splice bar.

2. 1n a rail joint, a main splice bar fitting the fishing spaces and having asho-nlder, and a supplemental splice bar comprising an upright portion interlocled with the main splice bar, a depending truss flange portion and an intermediate angular portion overlying and engaging the rail base flanges.

3. in a rail joint, a main splice bar fitting the fishing spaces and having a shoulder, and a supplemental splice bar having an upright flange provided with a shoulder underlying and engaging the shoulder of the main splice bar, a depending truss flange portion, and an intermediate angular portion which overlies and bears against the rail base flanges.

4. ln a rail joint, a main splice bar fitting the fishing spaces and having ribs, and a supplemental splice bar also having ribs interlocking with those of the main splice bar, said supplemental splice bar comprising a body portion having an upright flange, a depending flange and an intermediate angular portion overlying and bearing upon the rail base flanges.

5. In a rail joint, a main splice bar, a

base plate, and zt supplemental splice bar set my hand n the presence of two witoverlyng and bearing upon the rail hase nesses. flanges and nterlocked with the main splice bm', said supplemental splice bar also hav- JOHN R' KELLER' 5 ing a shoulder engaging beneath the base Witnesses:

plate. MARY A. BARTH, In testimony whereof, I have hereunto M. A. KELLER.

Copie: ot this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

